My musings about dad’s health proved prophetic. After his accident last week I opined that there may be something wrong with his health, and there is.
Unbeknownst to me, he has been struggling with an abnormally low red blood cell count for several months. Since red blood cells carry oxygen to the body, symptoms include things like dizziness, slowed reaction time, etc, which probably contributed to his accident.
The bad news is that the cause of his low RBC count is probably leukemia or something worse.
I took him to the hospital for a bone marrow biopsy today which should provide a definitive diagnosis. We will have the results in about a week.
Overall, the prognosis is not good. His oncologist told him that there were several forms of leukemia that have a high mortality rate. Worst case, he could have as little as 6 months. Best case, he could have a treatable form that may require a bone marrow transplant. Since relatives are the best chance for a tissue type match, I would probably end up being the donor.
I’ve heard that bone marrow donation is one of the most painful processes in medicine, so this should be an interesting experience.